By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners! Welcome back to your weekly bargain bin, though one of the guys who made today’s list isn’t exactly cheap. Can you guess who that player is before scrolling down? One hint, Steve Van Tassell is a big fan, despite the fact he likely rosters him in zero Dynasty Owner leagues. Let me know if you guessed correctly on Twitter/X.
Before we jump into this week’s free agents, let’s cover some of the major takeaways after the first two weeks of the season. The biggest surprise for me this season and maybe it’s because I’m a Browns hater living near Cleveland, but man, Deshaun Watson ($46,000,000) has looked extremely average through two weeks. I was willing to give him a pass after the bad weather in Week 1 against the Bengals, but there was no excuse for Week 2. If Watson doesn’t play much better by the start of next season, the Browns are going to look a lot like the Ravens at the end of the Joe Flacco era. Up next, we have the New York Dominators, formerly known as the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have destroyed both New York football teams thanks to a dominant defense finishing the first two weeks with a combined score of 70-10, though I must give the Giants credit. The Giants started the first game and a half of the 2023 season with their opponents scoring 60 points to the Giants zero points and still found a way to beat the Cardinals and start with a 1-1 record. Impressive in many ways to say the least. Lastly, I would like to touch on what many of us thought would be the worst division in football by a long shot, the NFC South. Yet two weeks through the season, the South has three undefeated teams and is shaping up to be one of the more fun divisions in the entire league. Baker Mayfield ($4,000,000) doesn’t play for the Browns anymore which dominant is allowed to win consecutive games, the Saints have a dominate defense with an offense that has the potential to explode, and the Falcons just keep pounding the ball down people’s throats en route to victories. Will it last, I am not sure, but it is fun to watch!
Hello folks, I will be bringing all of you a free agent article every week this season just as I have done the past few seasons. If you are new to this series of articles, there is a small list of requirements with the main one being the player must be 80% rostered or below in Dynasty Owner. The only other requirement I have is that I would like the player to have a salary of $8,000,000 or less, but I will put a higher salary player on the list if I feel they are worth it. Free Agent Auction bids will process on Wednesday at 5 AM (Eastern) for this upcoming week, so there’s still time to get your bids in for Week 3. The Bid listed below is my recommended amount to secure the player for your Dynasty Owner team in the Wednesday Free Agent Auction run in a typical Dynasty Owner league.
- Josh Reynolds (WR – DET) – 1 year/$3,000,000 – 60.15% Rostered
Alright I think everyone is ready to listen to me about Josh Reynolds now. Ever since the suspension of Jameson Williams ($4,365,448), I have touted Reynolds numerous times in articles and even offered a backup option in Marvin Jones ($3,000,000). The Lions offense was just too good at the end of last season for them to only have one receiver rostered in most Dynasty Owner leagues. Two weeks through the season and this will be no more. In those games, Reynolds has posted an impressive stat line of 9 catches for 146 yards and 2 touchdowns, good enough for a cool 35.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. If the Lions offense continues to hum, Reynolds will be much more than a player who should be 100% rostered, he could be a fringe Starter week in and week out. I am also now a believer that his volume will stick around after Williams returns from suspension. I assure you that this will be your last shot at picking up Josh Reynolds!
Bid – $4,000,000
- Matt Breida (RB – NYG) – 1 year/$1,400,000 – 68.2% Rostered
Alright this feels gross, and I don’t like it one bit, but with as bad as the running back position is right now these words are really going to be said. Pick up…. Matt Breida. Yuck! Ok now that I have that off my chest, Breida offers solid upside in the passing game and should see enough work in Saquon Barkley’s ($10,091,000) absence to earn a spot on your Bench in Week 3. If we are being realistic Breida will probably be a Starter in a lot of people’s lineups because of how bad the running back position as a whole is right now. I know most teams would virtually abandon the run game after losing Barkley and not having much depth behind him, but the Giants lean heavily on production from the running back position, and I expect them to continue do so regardless of who is in the backfield. Daniel Jones ($40,000,000) throwing the ball 40 times a game doesn’t sound like a winning formula to me.
Bid – $2,000,000
- Hunter Henry (TE – NE) – 1 year/$12,500,000 – 24.14% Rostered
I think we know who Mac Jones’ ($3,896,588) favorite target is! I know we have only had two weeks of football and I am breaking my own rules here (salary), but Hunter Henry is the number 2 ranked tight end in Dynasty Owner right now and isn’t even 25% rostered. I could be a week too early on this and Henry could fall back to his average ways, but at this point it seems as if Henry is going to be a focal point of the Patriots’ offense all season, especially in the red zone. Through the first two games, Henry has posted an impressive stat line 11 catches for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to 33.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. I know $12,500,000 is a lot of money for a free agent pickup but if Henry can remain in the 10–20-point range each week, which I think he can, he will likely finish as a top 4 tight end. It’s early, but Henry has been impressive thus far. I’m sure Steve will sign off on this message!
Bid – $1,000,000
- Zach Wilson (QB – NYJ) – 2 years/$8,787,670 – 77.39% Rostered
I know we just went through this last week and Zach Wilson played horribly. Despite all of that he makes the list again for what will likely be the last time as he should be rostered in too many leagues by next week. I am willing to give Wilson a pass in Week 2 as he was playing what will likely be the best defense he sees all season long in the Dallas Cowboys. I am by no means expecting Wilson to go out and throw for 250 plus yards and multiple touchdowns on a weekly basis, but I can see him getting you 175-200 yards and a touchdown each week as teams load the box to stop the Jets’ running game. If Wilson can figure out how to limit turnovers (it’s a big If, I know), he will be an excellent Practice Squad quarterback for any Dynasty Owner. The biggest draws for me when it comes to Wilson are the facts that he is still on his rookie deal, and it appears that he is locked in as the Jets starter for all of 2023.
Bid – $2,000,000
- Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE) –1 year/$5,000,000 – 65.52% Rostered
Kendrick Bourne probably did not instill a ton of confidence in Dynasty Owners in Week 2, but his target share is what keeps me excited about the future. It seems as if Bourne will be competing with DeVante Parker ($7,625,000) as the Patriots number one receiver and with as spotty as Parker’s injury history is and him already missing a game this season, Bourne is a player I want on my Dynasty Owner roster. Bourne is the perfect bye week/depth player in this format as he is relatively inexpensive and seems primed to be a great boom or bust candidate who has a solid floor. I don’t see Bourne scoring less than 6.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points on any given week with the volume he has seen over the first two weeks of the season. Throughout those two weeks, Bourne has a stat line of 10 catches for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. Good enough for 31.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. If Bourne continues to see an abundance of targets, he is going to put up good numbers this season.
Bid $2,000,000
Thank you all for reading! Be sure to check out all of the upcoming articles from me and Steve plus the Dynasty Owner Livestream every Wednesday afternoon at 4:45 PM (Eastern). Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!